Writing a stand up comedy routine

I told him I was a struggling comic.

6 Ways to Not Suck at Stand-Up Comedy | feelthefish.com

Pinterest 0 Writing and performing stand-up comedy is an incredibly rewarding creative process. To see the material that you have written gain an immediate reaction from a live audience is an amazing feeling. What is stand-up comedy? Stand-up is a style of comedy where the comedian performs in front of a live audience, reciting jokes, monologues, one-liners… whatever comes into their head basically.

Venues can vary from bars and coffee houses to theatre and stadiums. From the outside, watching comedians perform, it can look so effortless. Witnessing the likes of Louis CK, Sarah Silverman or Jimmy Carr perform, it may appear that they are simply saying what pops into their head — but you can rest assured that an immense amount of crafting and refining goes into every line they utter.

The following guide will mainly focus on how to write a stand-up comedy routine with the view to performing it. Writing Process for Stand-Up Comedy Whether you want to pursue comedy as a hobby or a potential career, it all starts with the writing process.

When it comes to writing stand-up material, it can be difficult to know where to begin.

6 Ways to Not Suck at Stand-Up Comedy

One thing that is for certain, if an idea crosses your mind, it is integral that you write it down. Having the idea or the conclusion to a joke is a significant chunk of the battle — you can work the rest out once you have this.

Wording and timing are perhaps the areas of comedy where you must be most precise. Finding the right words to get your joke across is what sets you aside from the crowd. A very minor alteration — a slight pause before the punchline or the way you tell the joke — can turn a good piece of material into a great piece.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement So let me set the scene. You're at your gig or your open mic and you unfurl your new bit that you've successfully tried in your apartment countless times, much to the delight of your hot plate and cockroaches.

LEARNING HOW TO WRITE COMEDY FOR A SPEECH

Below is an outline of how I would suggest you build your first five-minute set to get the most out of your time.

In terms of the actual writing of the material, just do whatever works for you. One accessible way of doing it is writing out what the entire joke. Attending a comedy writing workshop could also be helpful, such as these online comedy writing classes.

Memorising An aspect that may worry you before you begin performing stand-up is the memory aspect — remembering your material.

How to Write a Stand-Up Comedy Routine - Writing Tips Oasis

While this could be a genuine concern you may find it difficult to memorise things generallyit can be different when it comes to stand-up.

Another aspect that you may not think of before you begin writing is your attachment to your material. You will feel an attachment to the material you have written, and this itself can act as a memory tool.

One of the first rules of comedy is to start with your second strongest piece of material, and finish on your strongest. You by no means need to have this set-in stone as you begin, but you should probably have an idea yourself.

What kind of comedian are you?Writing and performing stand-up comedy is an incredibly rewarding creative process. To see the material that you have written gain an immediate reaction from a live audience is an amazing feeling. Constructing Your First Five Minute Stand- Up Comedy Set (An Outline) 17 comments The most difficult thing for someone to do is to get on that stage for the first time.

Writing Process for Stand-Up Comedy

Stand-Up Is Spoken, Not Written. The most important thing you need to know about how to be a comedian is that you are writing for a speech, an informal one at feelthefish.com audience will never get to see your writing in fact, they don’t even care if you wrote anything.

50 Best Stand-Up Comedy Tips. How to Be a Comedian, How to write stand-up comedy, TIPS FOR WRITING STAND-UP COMEDY TAP YOUR AUTHENTIC, FUNNY SELF. when they try to turn it into a comedy routine, their material comes out lifeless and humorless. The first step to writing your first standup comedy routine is to make sure your expectations are realistic.

Start with a goal of 5 killer minutes. Trying to come up with a two-hour HBO special right away will only lead to frustration.

Writing Jokes for a Speech vs. Stand-Up Comedy Structurally speaking, joke writing problems are exactly the same for anyone trying to get a laugh. The righteous minister tells circumspect religious jokes that conclude with a moral point.